Ramaphosa 'failed to declare' R500k Bosasa donation, Maimane charges

DA leader Mmusi Maimane has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of failing to declare the controversial Bosasa donation in his declaration of interests for the 2018-2019 financial year. Image: TimesLIVE

President Cyril Ramaphosa has not noted the controversial R500,000 donation to his 2017 presidential campaign from facilities management company Bosasa in his declaration of interests.

This is according to DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who, in a press release on Thursday, said he had sight of the president's declaration of interests for the 2018-19 financial year.

Once a year, the president is required by the Executive Ethics Code to disclose the details of all his financial interests to the secretary of Cabinet, Dr Cassius Lubisi.

"I can confirm that [Ramaphosa] has failed to declare the clear conflict of interest that exists between himself, his son Andile, and the corrupt systems management company Bosasa," Maimane said.

"It is our view that [Ramaphosa] has misled his own Cabinet and in doing so breached the Executive Ethics Code. I will therefore approach the public protector to formally include this omission by the president in her ongoing investigation into what can only be described as insider trading between the Ramaphosa and Bosasa."

Last year, it was revealed that Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson gave a R500,000 donation to Ramaphosa's campaign for the ANC presidency. It has since emerged that his son Andile earned at least R2m from Bosasa for advisory services.

"We cannot ignore the fact that Bosasa is a company that has been bribing ANC politicians for the last two decades. Bosasa's contracts with the ANC government total over R10bn. Like Zuma-Gupta, the Ramaphosa-Bosasa relationship follows the standard ANC triangle of corruption: the ANC-in-government gives lucrative tenders to connected cronies who bribe officials, which in return funds the ANC," Maimane said.

He added: "From Bosasa to Eskom loan deals, Andile Ramaphosa is unduly benefiting due to the fact that his father happens to be the president. This is no different to former President Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane, and his dodgy business dealings that were in part facilitated by his father’s political connections."